Experiment No.

1: Types of polyhouses and shade net houses

Introduction

In open field conditions, there is no control over the environmental factors liketemperature, light and
relative humidity.The advent of modern greenhouse technology opened up the avenues to
preciselycontrol the environmental parameters favourable for the cultivation of a particular crop

Growing the horticultural crops in protected environment (greenhouse/polyhouse)ensures the best

Definition of Polyhouse

Polyhouse farming is a new and widely accepted method of farming in presentdays. The Polyhouse is a
tunnel used with polyethylene in semi-circular shape. Polyethylenesheets stabilize the ultraviolet rays
and helps in proper photosynthesis in crops. We can makeit in other shapes also but the semi-circular
shape is most commonly adopted shape inPolyhouse.

Difference between Polyhouse and Greenhouse

Polyhouse is one of the types of Greenhouse in which polyethylene is used as mainmaterial for
construction. The durability of the polyhouse is more compared to other types of Greenhouse. The
Polyhouse is more advanced in view of the technology.

Types of Polyhouse

Depending on the control system using Polyhouse can be1. With semi-automatic control system or 2.
with fully automatic control system.

Description

In semi-automatic control system, manual adjustments are needed to maintain thePolyhouse in good
condition whereas in automatic system, pre-settings are enough for themaintenance of Polyhouse.
Proper alertness and technical skills should be needed whilemanaging semi-automaticPolyhouse. Any
deviation from this may result in damage of cropand may lead to loss. In an automatic system of
Polyhouse less attention is enough for maintenance, but it is very costlier compared to semi-automatic
type.

Shade net houses

A Shade house is a structure enclosed by agro nets or any other woven material to allowrequired
sunlight, moisture and air to pass through the gaps. It creates an appropriate microclimate conducive to
the plant growth. It is also referred as shade net house or net house.

Uses of shade house

Helps in cultivation of flower plants, foliage plants, medicinal plants, vegetables andspices.

Used for fruit and vegetable nurseries as well as for raising of forest species etc.

Helps in quality drying of various agro products.

1 |Page

Used to protect against pest attack.

Protects from natural weather disturbances such as wind, rain, hail and frost.

Used in production of graft saplings and reducing its mortality during hot summer days.

Used for hardening tissue culture plantlets

Planning for a shade house

The shade house structure should be planned taking into consideration the type of crop to be grown,
locally available materials and local climatic conditions. The provision for future expansion should be
there.

Site selection

A shade house should be located in such a way that it is well connected with marketfor input supplies
and sale of its produces. This structure should be constructed away from buildings and trees, so also
away from industrial or vehicular pollutants. The site should befree from drainage problem. There
should be provision of electricity and good quality water.However, wind breakers may be located 30m
away from the structure.

Orientation
There are mainly two criteria for shade house orientation. They are the uniformity of light intensity in
the shade house and wind direction. Single span structure may be orientedeither in east-west or north-
south direction but multispan structure should be oriented innorth-south direction to ensure uniform
light intensity.

Structural materials

A shade house structure composed of two basic components i.e. frame and claddingmaterial. The shade
house frame provides support for cladding material and designed to protect against wind, rain and crop
load. The shade house mild steel (ms) angle frame lasts upto 20 to 25 years, if anti rust treatment is
done at regular interval, whereas bamboo structurecan last up to 3 years. The agro shade net lasts for 3
to 5 years depending on the climaticcondition. Shade nets are available in different colours with wide
range of shade percentagesviz. 25%, 30%, 35%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 90%.The design of shade house
frames depend on the need and engineering skill.Structural frames of quonset, gable or gothic arch
shape or with minor modification suitableto local condition are recommended in high rainfall areas like
Orissa.

Design and Construction of shade house

Two types of shade house designs have been developed at Precision FarmingDevelopment Centre,
Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. The principal advantage of these shade
houses is that these structures do not require any weldingat the site. Another advantage is that
foundation posts have been chosen to protect thesestructures against termite attack.

2 |Page
Experiment No.2: Intercultural operations

Weeding

Removal of weeds is known as weeding. Weed is a plant grown where it is notdesired

Objectives

i.To reduce the competition of weeds to crop plants for light, space, water and nutrients.ii.To get
expected output (yield) from crop cultivation.iii. Weeding in dry condition fulfills the objective of natural
mulching.

Mulching

Mulching is a method of conserving soil moisture. It is a very important interculturaloperation for rabi
and rainfed crops. It is done by making a covering on the soil surface whichactually reduces the
evaporation of soil water. Mulches are the materials used for mulching.

Objectives

i. To conserve soil moisture.ii. To reduce excess evaporation loss of soil moisture.iii. To ensure economic
use of irrigation water.

Advantages

i. It keeps the soil moist during the dry season.ii. It suppresses weed growth and population.iii. Keeps the
soil cool during dry and hot season.iv. Use of mulches like water hyacinth or straw adds significant
amount of organic matter tothe soil after decomposition.v. Natural mulching aerates the soil which
helps better respiration of plant roots.vi. Mulching becomes essential for some crops to prevent contact
of product with soil as for example fruits of straw berry plants if come in direct contact with the soil then
the fruits willrot. So, mulching becomes essential for strawberry.

Types of mulch

i. Natural mulch (water hyacinth, straw, leaves etc.)ii. Artificial mulch (polythene, paper etc.)

Types of mulching

i. Natural mulching

4 |Page

ii.Artificial mulching
Natural mulching

It is a method of breaking the surface of dry soil and generally done by stirring thesoil surface with the
help of some implements like niri, khurpi etc. Weeding in dry conditionwith the help of niri or khurpi
results in natural mulching. When the soil becomes drier, water vapour moves upward towards the soil
surface through capillary tubes and escapes into theatmosphere. Natural mulching breaks the soil crust
and thereby, opening of capillary tubesgets broken and blocked which results in prevention of upward
movement of water vapour.Hence, upward movement of capillary water is restricted and soil moisture
is conserved.

Artificial mulching

This includes application of plant leaves, straw, water hyacinth, polythene, sawdustetc. so as to provide
a covering on the surface soil which can check the evaporation of soilmoisture. Mulch crops may also be
grown to conserve soil moisture in bare ground by their thick and multilayered foliage, trailing habit and
sometimes, self-seeding nature, for instancecow pea, Alylosia.

Earthing up

Earthing up consists of lifting up or shifting the soil from the central portion of thespace between rows
towards the base of plants so as to cover the plant base or certain plantorgans grown from below or at
the soil surface. Earthing up may be done both under wet anddry conditions of soil.

Objectives

i. To make better root anchorage.ii. To prevent lodging.iii. To cover stolons and rhizomes in some crops.

Advantages

i. Earthing up creates ridges and furrows in the crop field which later on serves the purpose of irrigation
channel.ii. Earthing up reduces weed growth and population.iii.Earthing up closes the spreading tillers in
sugarcane which makes the tying of canes easier.iv. Earthing up increasing the number of tubers in
potato and prevents solarization of developing tubers.v. The initiation of new (late) tillers in rice and
sugarcane or rhizomes in taro, turmeric andginger are restricted. vi. The pegs of groundnut, the stolons
and the tubers of potato and thestilt roots of maize are covered with earth.

Thinning

Removal of excess plants after germination from the crop field or seed bed is calledthinning. Excess
plants in a crop field reduce crop yield due to intra crop competition. As aresult there occurs shortage of
space, nutrients, light, air and moisture for individual crop

5 |Page

Hi-tech Horticultur - Hi Tech Horticulture - Notes - Teachmint

Automatic Seeding Machine - Bing video